Sherlock Chronicles - Review
* 05 November 2014

Here's the basic, cut to the chase first line of this review -
if you're a Sherlock fan, you'll want a copy of BBC Books' Sherlock
Chronicles.

It's that simple.

But if you needed any further convincing, we'll give you a more
detailed opinion.

This is a brand new, content rich, dimensionally compact but
nicely thick hardcover that details the complete production of BBC
Sherlock, springing from the historic background of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle's creation of the legendary character, to Steven Moffat
and Mark Gatiss' mutual love of those stories and other works
produced on stage and screen that all formed the germ of an idea
that become our beloved television series. It then breaks down
sequentially into a chapter by chapter, episode by episode look at
the production of the series.

You may potentially have heard that story before, but here it is
presented in a new and fresh way. For example, from the off, we're
shown the original emails from the days of the series conception -
from the back and forth between Steven, Mark and Sue Vertue as the
idea took hold among them to the palpable excitement between them
as Benedict Cumberbatch is cast and welcomed to the project.
Alongside this private correspondence, we are given access to a
wealth of never before seen photography by the behind the scenes
players, including Arwel Wyn Jones' recce photos while hunting for
locations, and rare images such as the only imagery of Mark in
costume as Mycroft during production of Series One - kept hidden
due to the huge secrecy surrounding the identity of his character
before broadcast. Also on display are side by side
comparisons of extracts of the original canon stories alongside the
scripts for the episodes, and deleted material from the episodes as
well.

Spread throughout the structure of each chapter are interviews
with key players, with the focus shifting from individuals who work
across the entire series to those who may only have contributed to
Sherlock the once. It takes in everything from an actor's
thoughts on their character, a director's approach to their
episode, and the work that goes into the production design, costume
design, hair and make-up application, practical and visual effects,
music scoring, editing and graphic design in an episode.

All that remains to be said is that this is a truly essential
purchase, as we might have already mentioned. Sumptuously
illustrated and not without some genuine surprises - the original
ideas for how Sherlock was to meet his 'end' during The Reichenbach
Fall are a particular highlight for us - this is a brilliant, broad
yet all encompassing look at the creation of Sherlock by the people
who brought it to life.